Redistricting

Ohio voters reject replacing troubled mapmaking system with citizen-led redistricting commission

Ohio voters have rejected a constitutional amendment that would have established a citizen-led redistricting commission. The outcome Tuesday marked a defeat for the group Citizens Not Politicians.

Ohio’s fall redistricting issue sparked a fight over one word. So what is ‘gerrymandering,’ anyway?

Plaintiffs won’t revive federal lawsuit over Tennessee’s redistricting maps

Ohio officials approve language saying anti-gerrymandering measure calls for the opposite

Ohio Supreme Court clears ballot language saying anti-gerrymandering measure calls for the opposite

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Lawsuits under New York’s new voting rights law reveal racial disenfranchisement even in blue states

A new voting rights law in New York is already having a dramatic effect, with lawsuits in several local communities seeking to reverse decades of voter disenfranchisement that prevents minorities from electing representatives of their choice.

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Wisconsin’s gov. signs new legislative maps

Supreme Court signals support for Republican-leaning South Carolina congressional district

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Judges dismiss suit alleging Tennessee’s political maps discriminate against communities of color

A federal judicial panel has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Tennessee’s U.S. House maps and those for the state Senate amount to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering.

Ohio lawsuit seeks rewrite of redistricting ballot language dubbed ‘biased, inaccurate, deceptive’

Backers of Ohio’s fall redistricting amendment are asking the Ohio Supreme Court to order a rewrite of what they contend “may be the most biased, inaccurate, deceptive, and unconstitutional ballot language” the state has ever seen.

Backers of Ohio redistricting measure vow lawsuit over ballot language they call ‘deceitful’

Backers of a fall redistricting amendment in Ohio vowed swift legal action Friday, after the state ballot board approved ballot language that they decried as inaccurate, devious and manipulative.

GOP Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine opposes fall ballot effort to replace troubled political mapmaking system

At a news conference complete with corroborating visuals, DeWine contended that rules laid out in the Citizens Not Politicians amendment would divide communities and mandate outcomes that fit “the classic definition of gerrymandering.” He took specific aim at the proposal’s requirement for partisan

Proposal to create a new political mapmaking system in Ohio qualifies for November ballot

A proposal to change Ohio’s troubled political mapmaking system has qualified for the November ballot.

Mississippi can wait to reset legislative districts that dilute Black voting strength, judges say

Federal judges say Mississippi can wait until next year to redraw some of its legislative districts to replace ones where Black voting power is diluted. Thursday’s decision updates a timeline from the three judges.

Mississippi must move quickly on a court-ordered redistricting, say voting rights attorneys

Voting rights attorneys say Mississippi should work quickly to redraw some legislative districts to ensure more equitable representation for Black residents.

Utah Supreme Court sides with opponents of redistricting that carved up Democratic-leaning area

Utah’s Supreme Court has ruled in favor of opponents of redistricting that carved up Democratic-leaning Salt Lake County among four congressional districts that have since elected Republicans by wide margins.

Campaign to get new political mapmaking system on Ohio’s ballot submits more than 700,000 signatures

Backers of a proposal to change Ohio’s troubled political mapmaking system have delivered hundreds of thousands of signatures needed to make the statewide ballot this fall.

Trial judges dismiss North Carolina redistricting lawsuit over right to ‘fair elections’

North Carolina trial judges have dismissed a lawsuit challenging redrawn legislative and congressional district lines on the argument that they run afoul of an indirect constitutional right to “fair elections.”

Wisconsin taxpayers to pay half the cost of redistricting consultants hired by Supreme Court

The liberal majority of Wisconsin’s Supreme Court says taxpayers will pay half of the $128,000 bill for redistricting consultants hired by the court to review proposed legislative maps. The court issued the order Monday, putting Gov.

North Carolina judges grapple with defining ‘fair’ elections in redistricting suit

North Carolina judges are deciding whether a redistricting lawsuit claiming a state constitutional right to “fair” elections can go to trial.

Minnesota joins growing list of states counting inmates at home instead of prisons for redistricting

Minnesota has joined a growing list of states that plan to count prisoners at their home addresses instead of at the prisons they’re located when drawing new political districts. Minnesota Democratic Gov.

Supreme Court finds no bias against Black voters in a South Carolina congressional district

The Supreme Court has preserved a Republican-held South Carolina congressional district, rejecting a lower-court ruling that the district discriminated against Black voters.

North Carolina redistricting attorney who fell short in federal confirmation fight dies at 69

A North Carolina redistricting and election law attorney nominated several times for a federal judgeship but never confirmed has died. A colleague of Thomas Farr says he died Monday at age 69 after a series of heart problems.

Appeals panel won’t order North Carolina Senate redistricting lines to be redrawn

A federal appeals court has declined to order North Carolina legislators to redraw some state Senate districts because of alleged racial bias. A divided panel of the 4th U.S.

Editorial Roundup: Ohio

Akron Beacon Journal. March 8, 2024.

In a court filing last month, Yost’s office argued that all aspects of Ohio’s ban on most abortions might not be tossed out even though voters approved new language protecting abortion access. That ban was in place for a short time after Roe v. Wade was overturned but subsequently was put on hold

Editorial Roundup: New York

Albany Times Union. March 6, 2024.

Editorial: Burdett decision is Health Department’s to make

The Burdett Birth Center is vital to Rensselaer County, and the state Department of Health should reject St. Peter’s Health Partners’ proposal to close the facility and shift its operations to Albany.

Editorial Roundup: New York

Albany Times Union. February 28, 2024.

Editorial: Don’t meddle with the Protective Services Unit

Former Gov. Andrew M.

New York gets a new congressional map that gives Democrats a slight edge in fight for House

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has approved a Democrat-drawn congressional map that gives the party a modest boost in a few battleground districts.

New York Democrats propose new congressional lines that could help them in battleground races

Democrats in charge of New York’s Legislature proposed new lines for congressional districts in the key battleground state hours after rejecting boundaries created by a bipartisan redistricting commission.

Redistricting experts submit $128K bill for review of Wisconsin legislative maps

Redistricting consultants hired by the Wisconsin Supreme Court submitted a bill for more than $128,000 for the work they did reviewing proposed new legislative maps.

New York Democrats reject bipartisan congressional map, will draw their own

Democrats in the New York Legislature are rejecting a congressional map drawn by the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission.

New York redistricting panel approves new congressional map with modest changes

New York’s bipartisan redistricting commission has approved a new congressional map that makes modest changes to three competitive districts but doesn’t substantially alter the rest of the state’s lines. The map proposal was approved Thursday.

Federal judges sound hesitant to overturn ruling on North Carolina Senate redistricting

The majority on a three-judge federal appeals court panel sounds hesitant to reverse a trial judge’s refusal last month to block the use of two new North Carolina state Senate districts that have been challenged on racial bias claims. The 4th U.S.

Missouri high court upholds voting districts drawn for state Senate

The lawsuit alleged that mapmakers should not have split western Missouri’s Buchanan County or the St. Louis suburb of Hazelwood into multiple districts.

Editorial Roundup: Illinois

Chicago Sun-Times. February 8, 2024.

Lawmakers across the country are finagling ways to give themselves an edge in elections, which erodes the rights of voters to representatives of their choice.

Wisconsin Republicans urge state Supreme Court to reject redistricting report’s findings

Wisconsin Republicans are urging the state Supreme Court to ignore a report from redistricting consultants that determined GOP-proposed legislative maps were unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders.

Court cases lead to new voting districts in some states. Could it affect control of Congress?

Voters in some states will be casting ballots in new congressional districts this year as a result of court rulings. Since the 2022 elections, U.S. House districts have been redrawn in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and North Carolina.

North Carolina redistricting lawsuit tries `fair` election claim to overturn GOP lines

Another lawsuit challenging North Carolina district lines for Congress and the legislature seeks a new legal route to strike down maps when critics say they’ve been manipulated for political gain.